Fingerprints
by coffeeismycatalyst
Summary: Before Jack Frost ever formally met the Guardians, he met Elsa. Primarily Jack/Elsa. Dysfunctional relationship between Pitch/Jack and unconditional love between Elsa/Anna will be present.


_A/N: Before Jack Frost ever formally met the Guardians, he met Elsa. Takes place a couple centuries before the events of RotG and centers more around the timeline of Frozen. The cover art I have featured for this story comes from the beautiful and talented __frauline, Yina!  
_

* * *

Jack did not like to linger indoors, especially if it was the home was empty. So when Elsa left the security of her Ice Castle to venture outside, Jack leapt off the balcony ledge he had been balancing across and took off into the wind.

Below him, the giant snowman Elsa had appropriately named "Marshmallow" craned its head toward the sky and roared after him. Jack chuckled and swooped around the creature, swirling drafts of snow around it. The snowman attempted to whack its bulky arm into the winter spirit, but it missed. As always.

Jack blew an extra gust of wind behind it and the giant snowman roared, swatting at the sudden onslaught of wind and Jack smirked, "Try and catch me next time, tubby."

For almost a century, Jack had traveled the world and for the entire time he had been "alive" no one had ever acknowledged his existence, which made the world a lonely place. Sure. The children of the world marveled at the snow he brought and the fun that came with it. However if it wasn't for the children, he would have no other reason to live.

There were others like him. Not that any of those who could see him were particularly fond of him. The Easter Bunny was one. It seemed Jack was always interfering with his holiday, but it wasn't as if Jack did it on purpose. The fact was that Easter inched very close to the end of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Stepping on his paws was bound to happen.

At least the sprites and elves who lived in the forests did not seem to mind Jack's antics. Neither did the fairies who resided near bodies of water, or the trolls who hid within the mountains. But these creatures were self-absorbed in themselves, caring little for children — or anyone else for that matter — and preferred to be left alone.

So when Jack first noticed Elsa, he thought she was might be such a creature. But to his surprise, Jack learned that Elsa was mortal. She could manifest ice with extraordinary ability and even massive ice storms could appear almost instantly and without warning, yet she was as mortal as any other human child.

He remembered the first time he had seen Elsa. The first clue that gave her mortality away was when Jack realized she could not see him at all. All immortals could see one another. That was the way things had always been.

Then as time passed, Jack saw Elsa was slowly aging. That was the only other clue Jack needed to understand that Elsa was _very much_ human.

For nearly a century Jack had been forever trapped at the age of seventeen. But Elsa had the ability to age as all mortal children did. Never had Jack known a mortal child to have the capacity to control the elements of winter the way she could. That fact fascinated Jack. The day when she exiled herself to live alone on a faraway mountainside, Jack had grown more intrigued by her life.

She had what Jack did not. The ability to be seen. To be heard. Ironically Jack always had what Elsa seemed to seek. Isolation. Invisibility. The irony of their situations was enough that Jack found himself continually drawn to her predicament—

The wind suddenly dropped from under him.

Jack was sent plummeting to the ground. He swiped his staff under him, attempting to catch enough wind to catch him from falling. It worked and Jack landed on his feet, stumbling to catch his balance. He turned his head to the sky that had gone unexpectedly still.

He scratched his head and wondered aloud, "What the hell?"

"Daydreaming, Jack?" came the chilling voice.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, Pitch," he greeted the boogeyman. Jack spun his staff overhead to rest comfortable against his shoulder. "Was blocking out the wind really necessary to get my attention?"

"You think that was _my_ doing?" Pitch asked innocently, pressing his long, skeletal fingers into his shadowy chest.

Jack brushed him away, twirling his staff over his head to rest comfortably against his shoulder. The boogeyman had powers beyond what Jack could fully understand but his rule of thumb was never underestimate his powers. "Modesty _really_ doesn't suit you."

"I'll remember that," Pitch said, sounding amused. He carved his words more slowly then, seeming to carefully calculate how to proceed. "How much has changed since the Dark Ages."

"Not this story again," Jack said, stopping Pitch before he could continue. His staff rested horizontally across his back and Jack dangled his wrists over the length of it as it laid securely across his shoulders. With his right hand, he rubbed his fingers together, catching the snow that currently fell between them.

Pitch narrowed his eyes until they glowered like smoldering embers. "It's a shame you never knew the glory of those past times. I wouldn't make light of our situation considering we have so much in common."

"Yeah." Jack kicked some snow off the ground, spinning it into the wind. He turned away from Pitch. The idea they had _that_ much in common seemed unlikely. "Whatever."

A hand settled on his shoulder. Jack looked up and found himself face-to-face with Pitch. The boogeyman smiled a razor-sharp smile, keeping his hand firmly on Jack's shoulder. "And how is Elsa these days? You seem to be spending an awful amount of time visiting her."

Jack's mouth went dry. "Are you spying on me?"

"Keeping close tabs on you," Pitch corrected him. The grin curling Pitch's lips thinned too-knowingly then. "Why is that _fear_, I am detecting?"

Jack ducked out from under Pitch's hold on his shoulder. He strolled past him, allowing some distance to stand between them. He stood more straight then and tightened his grip around his staff. "Stay away from her."

"Whoa-ho-ho!" Pitch cackled at Jack's response and circled around him quickly like a predator swooping down on its prey. "So you _are_ afraid. How interesting. But allow me to put your fears at ease. I do not care about that human child," Pitch assured him, waving his the matter away with a flick of his wrist and Jack wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. "She is not the reason why I'm here. Why I _am _here, Jack is to ask you a favor. I need _your _help."

Jack was aware of how these sort of deals worked with Pitch. Requests were never as straightforward as they appeared. "What sort of favor?"

"A small favor," Pitch assured him, pinching his own fingers together for emphasis.

"Tell me what you want," Jack demanded.

"I'm in need of a cold wave. You know how much I appreciate those unexpected winter storms of yours, but it's been so long since the last one. A simple one near the Southern region these time of year will do. Doesn't matter where."

Jack frowned. It would be easy enough to do. Cold waves were unexpected frosts during times of vegetation and growth. They were often responsible for famines and winter droughts, hypothermia and starvation. Therefore Jack had quickly learned to contain winter to areas of the world only when they were expected. With the weather being as warm currently as it was in the South, a cold wave would certainly be devastating. The sudden phenomenon of winter weather there would undoubtedly cause some damage.

"You know I can't do that," Jack reminded him. "Besides, what would be in it for me?"

A smile nestled comfortably on Pitch's features. His question opened the door for conversation and collaboration, and Jack was well-aware of that.

"Acknowledgement. Recognition. _Bragging rights._ Take your pick," Pitch said. "Any one of them will have those people cursing your name. But. They _will _know your name."

Jack was actually considering it now. If he created a cold wave that struck a populated town, it might be enough for his name to be spoken and spread afterward. But his name would be spoken in fear and something about that thought settled uneasily with him.

Pitch tried to encourage a positive response from him. "We'd make a great team."

"Yeah, but this whole _striking fear into people _thing so they can believe in us. That's not my thing. You wouldn't want a kid like me cramping your style, would you?" Jack said. He twisted his staff dexterously in his right hand and tucked it under his arm. "Besides I prefer to work on my own terms."

"Alone."

"Not alone," Jack said with an unexpected tinge of hesitation. "Just not with you."

The corners of Pitch's lips twitched. He went very still. Then he laughed. He laughed violently at the boldness of what Jack had said. His laughter echoed and twisted throughout the frozen landscape.

"Brave words," Pitch mused, drifting closer. His long fingers traced the length of Jack's staff and Jack did not flinch. He did not try to move away this time. Pitch's hand reached the end of his staff, rested briefly on the edge then without warning, Pitch leaned close into his ear — despite no one would be around to hear them — and whispered, "Do you know what people say about those who want to be alone? Those who are most lonely in this world _choose_ to be alone not because they enjoy it, but because they have tried to blend into the world before and failed. They are the people like _us_ who the world turned their back on. You think you are doing yourself any favors by protecting them?"

Before Jack had the chance to defend himself, the boogeyman disappeared then into the shadows abandoning him. Jack threw his hood over his head and walked away.

"Creep," he muttered to himself before turning his head to the falling night sky. At least the moon was visible now. It was a full moon and its light glowered across the frozen landscape, casting a luminescent glow across the untouched snow.

The scenery was positively serene and picturesque. It was time to create a little mayhem out here and Jack quickly took to the sky, conjuring a brisk winter storm to stir up the freshly fallen snow.

* * *

A nightmare woke Elsa in the middle of the night. Her bedroom sheets were disheveled and crumpled in a heap on the floor.

In her dream, she had seen Anna screaming for help and Elsa had been helpless to save her. Once she realized it would be impossible to save her, Elsa's fear had startled her awake. Cold sweat gathered on her face. Elsa's heart was thumping and for the first time in her life, she was shaking and shivering from the cold she seemed to feel. There was no one to protect her or to ease her fear so she drew her knees closer to her chest, curled alone in the darkness of her room.

She released and audible sigh then and carefully lifted herself upright. To her surprise, her balcony window was ajar.

Frowning, Elsa outstretched her arm and sent a blast of cold air from her hand. It was enough force to slam the doors shut and she threw extra ice at it to seal the balcony doors for good measure. Then she fell back into her bed and covered her arm over her eyes. "What a dream," she said.

Her ears perked at the sound of a door opening then again. She stared at the balcony doors then which had come undone. Again. Elsa rose to her feet now and approached the area apprehensively.

Maybe it be Olaf. The little guy was known for his goofiness. Who else could it possibly be? Perhaps this was some sort of game he had concocted for the moment, but Elsa doubted it even before she called out his name.

"Olaf?"

A dark chuckle reached her ears instead.

Elsa spun around, staring at the unexpected sight that she saw. A shadow appeared in her line of vision, materializing almost out of nowhere. It was without substance. The shadow blurred into the air and shifted from one edge of the wall to the other. Elsa squinted into the darkness, trying to see who it was that had entered her room.

The shadow stilled, seeming to await for Elsa to do make the next move. A wry smile played across her lips. "Okay, Olaf," she said, trying to conceal the uneasiness from her voice. "Very funny. Come out here so I can see you."

Then the shadows suddenly manifested into a somewhat human shape. The man was so tall, his shadow spilled upwards toward the ceiling.

"Who are you?" Elsa demanded and it shocked her when the voice that came out from her mouth was so timid and child-like. She took a step back then toward the open balcony, eyes still frozen on the dark man towering before her.

"_Pretty little maiden, better run as fast as you can. There's no escaping the Boogeyman."_

"The Boogeyman?" Elsa repeated the words and when she spoke, it sent a chill rushing down her back. She drew her left hand defensively over her chest. Her other hand was outstretched, prepared to defend herself if necessary. The more she tried to materialize the man in her mind, the more defined his features became. Out of fear, she attacked. Shards of ice darted from her fingertips but the man deftly avoided any attack with the ice, melting back into the shadows.

When the Boogeyman reappeared, he stood behind her and whispered into her ear, "Boo."

Elsa scrambled back around and shot a barrage of ice at the man, who tried to avoid contact with the ice but caught an unexpected blast of frost in his face. He growled in frustration and wiped the ice from his face. "Feisty one, aren't we?" Pitch spoke calmly and cast a wave of shadows to surround them. The darkness sucked away any remaining ice that Elsa may have directed at him and sent her spiraling off her feet.

Elsa collapsed to the ground, suddenly blinded by darkness. Her hands groped the familiar ice-sculpted floor of her bedroom. She quickly tried to stand on her feet but the Boogeyman swooped upon her with ease and his shadows enveloped around her. Attacking him with ice only seemed to infuriate him so Elsa remained still. For now it seemed the better option.

"If only all children could succumb to their fears as easily!" Pitch applauded himself. "But you, Elsa. You understand what it means to be truly afraid. All your life you have lived in fear. You're doing it now, running away here to hide from those fears."

"Stop it!" Elsa shouted into nothingness.

"You think you can run away from your fears?" Pitch echoed her very thoughts. "I told you there was no escaping me."

The coldness Elsa felt went straight into her heart then. She shivered for the second time that night from the cold. "I'm not listening," Elsa insisted then she attempted to talk to herself as if she was still sleeping. "Wake up, Elsa...wake up. It's only a bad dream. It's only a bad dream...this isn't real."

Pitch cleared his throat. Denial was always the first step towards acceptance but it _was _a step in the correct direction. As much fun as he was having in drawing out this poor girl's fears (and how many dark fears she had buried and concealed within herself) he was here for another reason. If he couldn't win Jack's trust _directly_, he would do it indirectly.

"Stand up, child," Pitch ordered her, casting away the shadows and revealing again the comfort of her own room.

When Elsa ignored him, Pitch lowered his voice and threatened her. "Stand up or else I will seek out your sister."

Finally, Elsa rose to her feet like an obedient child should.

"Very good," Pitch said. "Now tell me, child. Where is Jack Frost?"

Elsa repeated the name in her mind then sounded the words silently on her tongue before finally saying, "Jack Frost?"

"Yes. Jack Frost," Pitch said impatiently, quickly growing weary of this girl's ignorance. "That mischief-making winter spirit whom I always see hanging around here. Where is he?"

Pitch knew very well that Elsa would not be able to answer the question but that was not the point. The point of this conversation was to get Elsa thinking about Jack's whereabouts. As long as he was able to plant the idea of Jack Frost in her mind, the rest of his plan would fall into place just as well.

"You must be mistaken. I..." Elsa seemed to be scrambling for an answer and in her frantic attempt, she turned toward her Pitch. "If you promise to leave my sister alone, I'll help you find this _Jack Frost. _But how will I know when I find him?"

"You will know when you do," Pitch assured her. "Oh. And One more thing. I'd prefer we keep this our little secret, understand?"

Elsa nodded her head in surrender and even after the Boogeyman had long gone and Elsa no longer felt his presence, she remained on the floors of her bedroom. Eventually she fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Pitch had paid Elsa a visit last night.

Jack had no doubt of that.

He had no intention of flying by this same Ice Castle but when the wind had carried him here, he could not ignore the black sand that dripped around the balcony window. When he saw that, fear dropped in the pit of his stomach. Any detection of the Sandman's sweet golden sand had been severed long ago during the night. Pitch had been here and he had been up to no good but Jack did not dare interfere with the Nightmare King's affairs. After all, Pitch never interfered with Jack's fun. They had continued to maintain this mutual respect for one another and Jack preferred it stay that way. Jack waited until he was certain that Pitch was gone before finally drifted closer to the balcony.

The sun still hours before it would rise but enough light from the moon cast through Elsa's room for Jack to see the girl had collapsed on the cold floor sometime during the night. She was asleep.

Silently, Jack approached her.

The touch of his bare feet conjured delicate trails of frost to decorate the floors where he stepped. Usually he was careful to avoid such traces when trekking into other homes, but the situation this time was different. The frost continued to etch into the smooth ice-sculpted floors in intricate patterns.

His focus was only on Elsa. Her hair that was usually worn in a side-woven braid was disheveled and unraveling apart. Snowflake incrustations covered her bare hands and cheeks.

At the moment Jack wondered whether if he should just leave. There was nothing he could do for her except hope that the sun would rise a little sooner and cast away the shadows completely from this corner of the world. He retrieved one of Elsa's blankets which had fallen off her bed. The blanket was powder blue and impressively crafted out of ice.

Jack gently placed the blanket over Elsa. He spun around then, worried that maybe Pitch was watching him.

The only one who observed him was the Man in the Moon, but the moon's presence was always a comfort to Jack. There was a few more hours till the sun rose. That was plenty of time to spread a little more snow around in time to impress people as they woke to greet the new day. Jack prepared to dash back outside when suddenly, Elsa spoke in her sleep:

_"Jack..."_

Jack froze where he stood.

He tapped his staff against the ledge of the balcony then leaned pensively against the ledge of the balcony before falling over the edge, allowing the wind to carry him away.

* * *

_A/N: If you've made it this far, please review!  
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